Cotton industry in Ellis County receives THC Historical Marker

WAXAHACHIE – The Texas Historical Commission has recognized the Cotton Industry in Ellis County as a significant part of Texas history by awarding it an Official Texas Historical Marker. 

A dedication ceremony to commemorate the event is planned for Thursday, Sept. 7, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. 

The ceremony and reception will be held at 1889 On The Square, Ellis County Museum, 3rd Floor, 201 S. College St., in Waxahachie.

A brief history of how Ellis County became the “King Cotton County” in the nation near the turn of the Twentieth century will be presented.

The prosperity of the cotton industry during this period brought wealth and recognition to the county.

Since Ellis County was formed in 1849, the fertile Blackland Prairie was recognized for its rich dark soil conducive for growing crops, especially cotton.

But only with the coming of the railroads in the 1870s were farmers able to cash in on this lucrative crop as rail lines provided a means of transporting their cotton to markets and therefore increasing production.

So much cotton was planted in the 1890s that production surpassed the labor supply.  

An advertising campaign through the county seat of Waxahachie brought an influx of immigrants from across the southern states that created an abundance of tenant and sharecrop farmers.

This increase in cotton production set up Ellis County to produce a banner 187,449 bales of cotton in 1912 earning it the honor of being named “the greatest cotton producing county in the world,” according to the 1912 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide.

In addition, numerous related businesses sprang up including cotton gins, cotton oilseed mills, cotton compresses, and the Waxahachie Cotton Mill.

This ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity in Ellis County. Profits from the cultivation and processing of cotton resulted in a construction boom that transformed the physical character of the county leaving a rich architectural legacy that is evidenced by the many buildings and structures from the cotton boom still in use.